New Balance Vancouver and Barber & Co give back to homeless youth

Two local entrepreneurs are working to change the lives of Vancouver’s underprivileged youth.

Martin Rivard of Barber & Co, and Alex Harvey of New Balance Vancouver have joined forces to create Kicks & Cuts, a program geared towards giving homeless youth a fresh look and perspective on life.

Rivard and Harvey joined their skills together to give youth at Vancouver’s Covenant House new shoes and hairstyles, and hopefully a boost of confidence as well. They know how important that can be, having both had difficult youths themselves.

“Honestly, it doesn’t take much to make a difference,” says Harvey. “People tend to overestimate how much it takes to help someone. A new pair of shoes may not be the thing that gets Alex or Barbara-Jean a job, but them knowing that we’re here for them, that’s what means the most.”

The goal of Kicks & Cuts isn’t to just help out Vancouver’s homeless youth. Rivard and Harvey also want their initiative to inspire other young entrepreneurs to make time for Vancouver’s less fortunate.

“We aren’t trying to be heroes, we’re just using the tools at our disposal to help make our community better,” Harvey says.

“It’s easy for businesses like ours to focus on who’s walking through the doors, but sometimes we need to pay attention to the people outside them.”

Kicks & Cuts works to benefit youth living in Vancouver’s Covenant House, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving youth a brighter future.

If you want to get involved in the kind of work Kicks & Cuts is doing or help out in another way,  you can visit Covenant House’s website to learn how.